US20130020141A1 - Active hood system for vehicle - Google Patents
Active hood system for vehicle Download PDFInfo
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- US20130020141A1 US20130020141A1 US13/323,685 US201113323685A US2013020141A1 US 20130020141 A1 US20130020141 A1 US 20130020141A1 US 201113323685 A US201113323685 A US 201113323685A US 2013020141 A1 US2013020141 A1 US 2013020141A1
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- restoration
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- 238000000034 method Methods 0.000 claims description 4
- 238000010276 construction Methods 0.000 description 4
- 208000027418 Wounds and injury Diseases 0.000 description 2
- 230000009471 action Effects 0.000 description 2
- 230000000712 assembly Effects 0.000 description 2
- 238000000429 assembly Methods 0.000 description 2
- 230000006378 damage Effects 0.000 description 2
- 239000000446 fuel Substances 0.000 description 2
- 230000005484 gravity Effects 0.000 description 2
- 208000014674 injury Diseases 0.000 description 2
- 230000008569 process Effects 0.000 description 2
- 230000008439 repair process Effects 0.000 description 2
- 230000035939 shock Effects 0.000 description 2
- 230000008901 benefit Effects 0.000 description 1
- 230000000694 effects Effects 0.000 description 1
- 238000012423 maintenance Methods 0.000 description 1
- 230000007246 mechanism Effects 0.000 description 1
- 238000012986 modification Methods 0.000 description 1
- 230000004048 modification Effects 0.000 description 1
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Classifications
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- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B60—VEHICLES IN GENERAL
- B60R—VEHICLES, VEHICLE FITTINGS, OR VEHICLE PARTS, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
- B60R21/00—Arrangements or fittings on vehicles for protecting or preventing injuries to occupants or pedestrians in case of accidents or other traffic risks
- B60R21/34—Protecting non-occupants of a vehicle, e.g. pedestrians
- B60R21/38—Protecting non-occupants of a vehicle, e.g. pedestrians using means for lifting bonnets
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B62—LAND VEHICLES FOR TRAVELLING OTHERWISE THAN ON RAILS
- B62D—MOTOR VEHICLES; TRAILERS
- B62D25/00—Superstructure or monocoque structure sub-units; Parts or details thereof not otherwise provided for
- B62D25/08—Front or rear portions
- B62D25/10—Bonnets or lids, e.g. for trucks, tractors, busses, work vehicles
- B62D25/12—Parts or details thereof
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B62—LAND VEHICLES FOR TRAVELLING OTHERWISE THAN ON RAILS
- B62D—MOTOR VEHICLES; TRAILERS
- B62D25/00—Superstructure or monocoque structure sub-units; Parts or details thereof not otherwise provided for
- B62D25/08—Front or rear portions
- B62D25/10—Bonnets or lids, e.g. for trucks, tractors, busses, work vehicles
Definitions
- the present invention relates to an active hood system for a vehicle. More particularly, the present invention relates to an active hood system for a vehicle which allows a user to easily restore the positions of an actuator and a hood operated at the time of a pedestrian collision with little force.
- a vehicle has an engine compartment provided at the front part thereof, wherein the engine compartment is opened or closed by a hood.
- the hood is a part adapted to shut off engine noise by shielding the engine compartment as well as to open or close the engine compartment, in which the hood is connected to the top of the engine compartment generally at the left and right sides of the rear end thereof through hinge assemblies in such a manner that the hood can be rotated about the hinge assemblies to open or close the engine compartment.
- a hood is known as a part inflicting a heavy injury upon a pedestrian at the time of a pedestrian collision.
- an active hood system is recently applied to such a hood, so that a space capable of absorbing the pedestrian's impact energy can be secured between the hood and the engine compartment in a pedestrian collision accident.
- the active hood system is a system for lifting a hood so as to protect a pedestrian at the time of a pedestrian collision, and serves as a kind of a pedestrian-protection safety device which can reduce the pedestrian's injury index as well as absorb the pedestrian's shock in a pedestrian collision accident.
- a controller operates an actuator in accordance with a sensing signal of the sensor to lift the rear end of the hood, so that a shock-absorbing space can be secured between the hood and the engine compartment.
- the controller receives the sensing signal from the sensor and drives the actuator, a hinge assembly is lifted by the actuator as it is driven, and at the same time, the rear end of the hood, to which the hinge assembly is connected, is lifted, thereby pushing up the pedestrian to absorb the pedestrian's shock.
- FIG. 1 shows a construction of a conventional hinge assembly, wherein as shown in the drawing, an actuator 20 has springs 21 exerting a strong spring force to raise a considerably heavy hood at the time of a pedestrian collision, and a hinge assembly 10 having a four-bar link mechanism is provided between a hood (not shown) and the actuator 20 .
- the hinge assembly 10 includes a hinge arm 11 fixed to the hood, and two links 12 and 13 provided between and connected to the hinge arm 11 and the actuator 20 , in which the links 12 and 13 are lifted and rotated as the actuator 20 is being driven, which causes the rear end of the hood to be lifted, and at the same time, the actuator 20 is lifted, which causes the hinge arm 11 and links 12 and 13 to be pushed upward.
- the vehicle should be moved to such a vehicle AS center or a vehicle repair center in a state in which the hood is deployed, that is the rear end of the hood is raised, and if the vehicle is driven in such a state, the possibility of accident occurrence is increased.
- the present invention provides an active hood system for a vehicle which allows a user to restore an actuator operated at the time of a pedestrian collision with little force.
- the present invention provides an active hood system for a vehicle including: a hinge assembly mounted at each of the left and right sides of a hood to provide a hinge point at the time of opening or closing the hood; and an actuator for supporting and lifting the hinge assembly as well as for lifting the hood through the hinge assembly, the active hood system further including: a restoration link having top and bottom ends, wherein the top and bottom ends are hinged to a hinge arm of the hinge assembly fixed to the hood, and to a fixing point of the actuator, respectively, so that the restoration link can be rotated in cooperation with the hood, and wherein when the hood is pressed downward at the time of restoring the actuator and the hood, the restoration link is rotated about its bottom end-hinged part, at which the bottom end of the restoration link is connected to the fixing point of the actuator, whereby the restoration links can reduce the user's force required for restoring the actuator and the hood.
- the restoration link may be installed to interconnect the hinge arm and the fixing point of the actuator in an inclined direction.
- the restoration link may be hinged to the rear end of the hinge arm at its top end, and to the front fixing point of the actuator at its bottom end.
- the top end of the restoration link may be hinged to a position behind one or more top link ends-hinged parts of the hinge assembly for interconnecting the hinge arm and the actuator.
- the bottom end of the restoration link may be hinged to the body of the actuator below and ahead of one or more bottom link ends-hinged parts of the hinge assembly for interconnecting the hinge arm and the actuator.
- the restoration link serves as a lever, whereby the positions of the actuator and the hood can be lowered and restored with less force.
- the user can easily restore the positions of the actuator and the hood, and can perform self-maintenance for a vehicle, whereby the user's convenience and merchantability of the vehicle can be enhanced.
- FIG. 1 is a schematic view showing a hinge assembly of a conventional active hood system
- FIG. 2 shows a construction of an active hood system in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention in the state prior to the operation of an actuator
- FIG. 3 shows the conditions of the actuator and the hinge assembly of the system operated at the time of a pedestrian collision in the active hood system in accordance with the embodiment
- FIGS. 4 and 5 show a process of restoring the actuator in the active hood system in accordance with the embodiment, in which FIG. 4 shows a state in which the hood is opened for restoration, and FIG. 5 shows a state in which a restoration link connected to the actuator at the time of restoration;
- FIG. 6 is a view for describing a user's restoration force in the inventive active hood system.
- vehicle or “vehicular” or other similar term as used herein is inclusive of motor vehicles in general such as passenger automobiles including sports utility vehicles (SUV), buses, trucks, various commercial vehicles, watercraft including a variety of boats and ships, aircraft, and the like, and includes hybrid vehicles, electric vehicles, plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, hydrogen-powered vehicles and other alternative fuel vehicles (e.g., fuels derived from resources other than petroleum).
- a hybrid vehicle is a vehicle that has two or more sources of power, for example both gasoline-powered and electric-powered vehicles.
- the present invention relates to an active hood system for a vehicle.
- the present invention relates to an active hood system which allows a user to easily restore the positions of an actuator and a hood operated at the time of a pedestrian collision with little force.
- the inventive active hood system has a main characteristic in that it further includes a restoration link which can assist a user to readily lower an actuator and a hood in the state in which the actuator was operated by serving as a lever when a user presses the front end of the hood.
- FIG. 2 shows a construction of an active hood system in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention in the state prior to the operation of an actuator
- FIG. 3 shows the conditions of the actuator and the hinge assembly of the system operated at the time of a pedestrian collision in the active hood system in accordance with the embodiment.
- FIGS. 4 and 5 show a process of restoring the actuator in the active hood system in accordance with the embodiment, in which FIG. 4 shows a state in which the hood is opened for restoration, and FIG. 5 shows a state in which a restoration link is connected to the actuator at the time of restoration.
- the active hood system includes: a hinge assembly 10 mounted at each of the left and right sides of the rear end of a hood to provide a hinge point at the time of opening or closing the hood; an actuator 20 mounted to be capable of supporting and lifting the hinge assembly 10 ; a pedestrian collision sensing sensor (not shown) mounted on the bumper of the vehicle; and a controller (not shown) for driving the actuator by receiving a sensing signal from the pedestrian collision sensing sensor.
- the hinge assembly 10 includes a hinge arm 11 fixedly mounted on the hood (indicated by reference numeral 1 on FIG. 6 ), and first and second links 12 and 13 provided between and hinged to the hinge arm 11 and the actuator 20 at the opposite ends thereof.
- the actuator 20 is operated by the controller that receives a sensing signal from the pedestrian collision sensing sensor, the springs 21 are tensioned and at the same time the actuator 20 is lifted, thereby raising the hinge assembly 10 upward. Consequently, the rear end is lifted simultaneously when the hinge assembly 10 is raised upward.
- FIG. 3 shows a state in which the actuator 20 is operated and the hinge assembly 10 is lifted (i.e., the rear end of the hood is lifted), wherein the existing 4-bar link elements of the hinge assembly 10 , i.e. the hinge arm 11 , the first link 12 and the second link 13 are simultaneously lifted due to the operation of the actuator 20 , thereby raising the hood.
- the existing 4-bar link elements of the hinge assembly 10 i.e. the hinge arm 11 , the first link 12 and the second link 13 are simultaneously lifted due to the operation of the actuator 20 , thereby raising the hood.
- the hinge assembly 10 in the inventive active hood system is additionally provided with a restoration link 14 wherein the restoration link 14 reduces, by lever principle, the restoration force to be exerted by the user when the hood is pressed downward for the purpose of restoring the actuator 20 and the hood.
- the restoration link 14 is a member that allows the positions of the actuator and the hood to be readily restored when the user directly presses the front end of the hood in the state in which the actuator 20 was operated, wherein the restoration link 14 lowers the hinge arm 11 , the first link 12 and the second link 13 concurrently by lever principle while it is being rotated in cooperation with the descent of the hood.
- Such a restoration link 14 is provided to interconnect the hinge arm 11 and the actuator 20 .
- the restoration link 14 is provided in such a manner that at the time of restoration, the opposite ends of the restoration link 14 are rotatably hinged to the hinge arm 11 and the actuator 20 , respectively, and with reference to the front and the rear of the vehicle body and the hood, one end (top end) of the restoration link 14 is hinged to the rear end of the hinge arm 11 , and the other end (bottom end) is hinged to the fixed point of the actuator 20 .
- restoration link 14 it is possible to use the restoration link 14 by separating the other end of the restoration link 14 from its hinged point on the hinge arm 11 and then hinging the other end to the fixed point of the actuator 20 as shown in FIG. 5 .
- the one end is preferably hinged to the hinge arm 11 at a position behind the top end hinge points of the first and second links 12 and 13 hinged to the hinge arm 11 .
- the other end (bottom end) of the restoration link 14 is hinged to the front part of the actuator body 22 serving as the fixing point of the actuator, in which the hinged point of the other end of the restoration link 14 is preferably set to be located below and ahead of the bottom ends-hinged points of the first and second links 12 and 13 .
- the bottom end-hinged part of the restoration link 14 is positioned lower than the bottom ends-hinged parts of the first and second links 12 and 13 , and the bottom end-hinged part of the restoration link 14 is positioned ahead of the bottom end-hinged part of the second link 13 which is positioned ahead of the first link 11 .
- the restoration link 14 interconnect the hinge arm 11 and the body 22 of the actuator 20 in the inclined direction, in which if the user presses the front end of the hood for restoration after the operation of the actuator 20 , the hinge arm 11 is pressed downward so that the restoration link 14 can be rotated counterclockwise about the bottom end-hinged part thereof, and hence the first link 12 , the second link 13 and the actuator 20 are sequentially moved and lowered in cooperation with the restoration link 14 (the first and second links are rotated counterclockwise about the bottom ends-hinged parts thereof, respectively).
- restoration link As the restoration link is rotated downward due to the movement of the hinge arm when the hood is lowered in this manner, the user can readily lower the hood, the actuator, the hinge arm, and the individual links with less force.
- the functional effects of the restoration link will be described below with reference to FIG. 6 .
- the restoration link 14 performs a lever action for reducing the restoration force to be exerted by the user.
- the force required for compressing the springs 21 of the actuator 20 i.e. the spring force is 500 kgf
- the restoration force to be exerted by the user for restoring the active hood system can be calculated as follows:
- A is a distance from the top end-hinged part (rotation center) of the restoration link 14 to the center of gravity of the hood 1
- B is a distance from the top end-hinged part of the restoration link 14 to the acting point of force (restoration force) exerted by the user
- W is a load acting due to the self-weight at the center of gravity.
- C is an eccentric distance between the acting point of the spring force of the actuator and the top end-hinged part of the restoration link 14
- F is a force to be exerted by the user to the hood 1 for restoring the active hood system, i.e. a restoration force.
- F will be 24 kgf, which can be easily applied to the acting point on the hood by the user. Accordingly, with the aid of the lever action of the restoration link, the positions of the springs, the actuator and the hood can be restored to the original conditions thereof even with little force.
- the restoration link serves as a lever, whereby the positions of the actuator and the hood can be lowered and restored with a less force.
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Abstract
Description
- This application claims under 35 U.S.C. §119(a) the benefit of Korean Patent Application No. 10-2011-0070739 filed Jul. 18, 2011, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.
- (a) Technical Field
- The present invention relates to an active hood system for a vehicle. More particularly, the present invention relates to an active hood system for a vehicle which allows a user to easily restore the positions of an actuator and a hood operated at the time of a pedestrian collision with little force.
- (b) Background Art
- In general, a vehicle has an engine compartment provided at the front part thereof, wherein the engine compartment is opened or closed by a hood.
- The hood is a part adapted to shut off engine noise by shielding the engine compartment as well as to open or close the engine compartment, in which the hood is connected to the top of the engine compartment generally at the left and right sides of the rear end thereof through hinge assemblies in such a manner that the hood can be rotated about the hinge assemblies to open or close the engine compartment.
- However, such a hood is known as a part inflicting a heavy injury upon a pedestrian at the time of a pedestrian collision. Thus, an active hood system is recently applied to such a hood, so that a space capable of absorbing the pedestrian's impact energy can be secured between the hood and the engine compartment in a pedestrian collision accident.
- The active hood system is a system for lifting a hood so as to protect a pedestrian at the time of a pedestrian collision, and serves as a kind of a pedestrian-protection safety device which can reduce the pedestrian's injury index as well as absorb the pedestrian's shock in a pedestrian collision accident.
- In a conventional active hood system, if a sensor mounted on a front bumper senses a pedestrian collision when a pedestrian collides against the front bumper, a controller operates an actuator in accordance with a sensing signal of the sensor to lift the rear end of the hood, so that a shock-absorbing space can be secured between the hood and the engine compartment.
- At this time, if the controller receives the sensing signal from the sensor and drives the actuator, a hinge assembly is lifted by the actuator as it is driven, and at the same time, the rear end of the hood, to which the hinge assembly is connected, is lifted, thereby pushing up the pedestrian to absorb the pedestrian's shock.
- However, such a conventional active hood system has a problem as follows.
- Various actuators are applied to such an active hood system to lift the rear end of a hood, in which after the active hood system is operated, it is impossible for a user to manually restore the actuators to the original positions thereof, i.e. to the state prior to operation. That is, due to the excessive force typically exerted by springs that have raised the rear end of the hood after the actuators were operated, it is difficult for a user to manually lower and close the lifted hood, which deteriorates the user's convenience.
- Such a problem will be described with reference to
FIG. 1 which shows a construction of a conventional hinge assembly, wherein as shown in the drawing, anactuator 20 hassprings 21 exerting a strong spring force to raise a considerably heavy hood at the time of a pedestrian collision, and ahinge assembly 10 having a four-bar link mechanism is provided between a hood (not shown) and theactuator 20. - The
hinge assembly 10 includes ahinge arm 11 fixed to the hood, and twolinks hinge arm 11 and theactuator 20, in which thelinks actuator 20 is being driven, which causes the rear end of the hood to be lifted, and at the same time, theactuator 20 is lifted, which causes thehinge arm 11 andlinks - In order to restore the actuator after the actuator was operated as described above, it is necessary to lower the hood so that the springs can be compressed. However, due to the excessive spring force, it is impossible for the user to directly lower the hood to compress the springs and at the same time to restore the position of the actuator. Consequently, the actuator can be restored only in a vehicle after-service (AS) center or a vehicle repair center.
- As a result, after the pedestrian collision and the operation of the active hood system, the vehicle should be moved to such a vehicle AS center or a vehicle repair center in a state in which the hood is deployed, that is the rear end of the hood is raised, and if the vehicle is driven in such a state, the possibility of accident occurrence is increased.
- The above information disclosed in this Background section is only for enhancement of understanding of the background of the invention and therefore it may contain information that does not form the prior art that is already known in this country to a person of ordinary skill in the art.
- The present invention provides an active hood system for a vehicle which allows a user to restore an actuator operated at the time of a pedestrian collision with little force.
- In one aspect, the present invention provides an active hood system for a vehicle including: a hinge assembly mounted at each of the left and right sides of a hood to provide a hinge point at the time of opening or closing the hood; and an actuator for supporting and lifting the hinge assembly as well as for lifting the hood through the hinge assembly, the active hood system further including: a restoration link having top and bottom ends, wherein the top and bottom ends are hinged to a hinge arm of the hinge assembly fixed to the hood, and to a fixing point of the actuator, respectively, so that the restoration link can be rotated in cooperation with the hood, and wherein when the hood is pressed downward at the time of restoring the actuator and the hood, the restoration link is rotated about its bottom end-hinged part, at which the bottom end of the restoration link is connected to the fixing point of the actuator, whereby the restoration links can reduce the user's force required for restoring the actuator and the hood.
- In an exemplary embodiment, the restoration link may be installed to interconnect the hinge arm and the fixing point of the actuator in an inclined direction.
- In another exemplary embodiment, with reference to the front and the rear of the vehicle body, the restoration link may be hinged to the rear end of the hinge arm at its top end, and to the front fixing point of the actuator at its bottom end.
- In still another exemplary embodiment, the top end of the restoration link may be hinged to a position behind one or more top link ends-hinged parts of the hinge assembly for interconnecting the hinge arm and the actuator.
- In yet another exemplary embodiment, the bottom end of the restoration link may be hinged to the body of the actuator below and ahead of one or more bottom link ends-hinged parts of the hinge assembly for interconnecting the hinge arm and the actuator.
- In accordance with the present invention as described above, if a user presses the front end of the hood of a vehicle in a state in which the actuator was operated and lifted for protecting a pedestrian at the time of a pedestrian collision, the restoration link serves as a lever, whereby the positions of the actuator and the hood can be lowered and restored with less force.
- Consequently, the user can easily restore the positions of the actuator and the hood, and can perform self-maintenance for a vehicle, whereby the user's convenience and merchantability of the vehicle can be enhanced.
- In addition, since it is not necessary to drive the vehicle in a state in which the hood is raised upward for restoration after the active hood system was operated, it is possible to remove the possibility of accident occurrence after the operation of the active hood system.
- The above and other features of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to certain exemplary embodiments thereof illustrated in the accompanying drawings which are given hereinbelow by way of illustration only, and thus are not limitative of the present invention, and wherein:
-
FIG. 1 is a schematic view showing a hinge assembly of a conventional active hood system; -
FIG. 2 shows a construction of an active hood system in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention in the state prior to the operation of an actuator; -
FIG. 3 shows the conditions of the actuator and the hinge assembly of the system operated at the time of a pedestrian collision in the active hood system in accordance with the embodiment; -
FIGS. 4 and 5 show a process of restoring the actuator in the active hood system in accordance with the embodiment, in whichFIG. 4 shows a state in which the hood is opened for restoration, andFIG. 5 shows a state in which a restoration link connected to the actuator at the time of restoration; and -
FIG. 6 is a view for describing a user's restoration force in the inventive active hood system. - Hereinafter reference will now be made in detail to various embodiments of the present invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings and described below. While the invention will be described in conjunction with exemplary embodiments, it will be understood that the present description is not intended to limit the invention to those exemplary embodiments. On the contrary, the invention is intended to cover not only the exemplary embodiments, but also various alternatives, modifications, equivalents and other embodiments, which may be included within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.
- In addition, it is understood that the term “vehicle” or “vehicular” or other similar term as used herein is inclusive of motor vehicles in general such as passenger automobiles including sports utility vehicles (SUV), buses, trucks, various commercial vehicles, watercraft including a variety of boats and ships, aircraft, and the like, and includes hybrid vehicles, electric vehicles, plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, hydrogen-powered vehicles and other alternative fuel vehicles (e.g., fuels derived from resources other than petroleum). As referred to herein, a hybrid vehicle is a vehicle that has two or more sources of power, for example both gasoline-powered and electric-powered vehicles.
- The present invention relates to an active hood system for a vehicle. In particular, the present invention relates to an active hood system which allows a user to easily restore the positions of an actuator and a hood operated at the time of a pedestrian collision with little force.
- In particular, the inventive active hood system has a main characteristic in that it further includes a restoration link which can assist a user to readily lower an actuator and a hood in the state in which the actuator was operated by serving as a lever when a user presses the front end of the hood.
-
FIG. 2 shows a construction of an active hood system in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention in the state prior to the operation of an actuator, andFIG. 3 shows the conditions of the actuator and the hinge assembly of the system operated at the time of a pedestrian collision in the active hood system in accordance with the embodiment. - In addition,
FIGS. 4 and 5 show a process of restoring the actuator in the active hood system in accordance with the embodiment, in whichFIG. 4 shows a state in which the hood is opened for restoration, andFIG. 5 shows a state in which a restoration link is connected to the actuator at the time of restoration. - At first, the active hood system includes: a
hinge assembly 10 mounted at each of the left and right sides of the rear end of a hood to provide a hinge point at the time of opening or closing the hood; anactuator 20 mounted to be capable of supporting and lifting thehinge assembly 10; a pedestrian collision sensing sensor (not shown) mounted on the bumper of the vehicle; and a controller (not shown) for driving the actuator by receiving a sensing signal from the pedestrian collision sensing sensor. - Here, the
hinge assembly 10 includes ahinge arm 11 fixedly mounted on the hood (indicated by reference numeral 1 onFIG. 6 ), and first andsecond links hinge arm 11 and theactuator 20 at the opposite ends thereof. - With this construction, if the
actuator 20 is operated by the controller that receives a sensing signal from the pedestrian collision sensing sensor, thesprings 21 are tensioned and at the same time theactuator 20 is lifted, thereby raising thehinge assembly 10 upward. Consequently, the rear end is lifted simultaneously when thehinge assembly 10 is raised upward. -
FIG. 3 shows a state in which theactuator 20 is operated and thehinge assembly 10 is lifted (i.e., the rear end of the hood is lifted), wherein the existing 4-bar link elements of thehinge assembly 10, i.e. thehinge arm 11, thefirst link 12 and thesecond link 13 are simultaneously lifted due to the operation of theactuator 20, thereby raising the hood. - Meanwhile, the
hinge assembly 10 in the inventive active hood system is additionally provided with arestoration link 14 wherein therestoration link 14 reduces, by lever principle, the restoration force to be exerted by the user when the hood is pressed downward for the purpose of restoring theactuator 20 and the hood. - The
restoration link 14 is a member that allows the positions of the actuator and the hood to be readily restored when the user directly presses the front end of the hood in the state in which theactuator 20 was operated, wherein therestoration link 14 lowers thehinge arm 11, thefirst link 12 and thesecond link 13 concurrently by lever principle while it is being rotated in cooperation with the descent of the hood. - Such a
restoration link 14 is provided to interconnect thehinge arm 11 and theactuator 20. In particular, therestoration link 14 is provided in such a manner that at the time of restoration, the opposite ends of therestoration link 14 are rotatably hinged to thehinge arm 11 and theactuator 20, respectively, and with reference to the front and the rear of the vehicle body and the hood, one end (top end) of therestoration link 14 is hinged to the rear end of thehinge arm 11, and the other end (bottom end) is hinged to the fixed point of theactuator 20. - At the time of restoration after the operation of the
actuator 20, the front end of the hood is pressed downward in the state in which the hood is raised upward to be opened (seeFIG. 6 ), wherein the condition of thehinge assembly 10 prior to pressing the front end of the hood in the same state is shown inFIG. 4 . - In addition, at the time of restoration, it is possible to use the
restoration link 14 by separating the other end of therestoration link 14 from its hinged point on thehinge arm 11 and then hinging the other end to the fixed point of theactuator 20 as shown inFIG. 5 . - At this time, the one end (top end) is preferably hinged to the
hinge arm 11 at a position behind the top end hinge points of the first andsecond links hinge arm 11. - In addition, at the time of restoration, the other end (bottom end) of the
restoration link 14 is hinged to the front part of theactuator body 22 serving as the fixing point of the actuator, in which the hinged point of the other end of therestoration link 14 is preferably set to be located below and ahead of the bottom ends-hinged points of the first andsecond links - It is possible to separate and re-fasten the other end of the
restoration link 14 by pulling out ahinge pin 14 a from thehinge arm 11, and then re-fastening the other end to the fixing point of theactuator 20. - Referring to
FIG. 5 , it can be seen that the bottom end-hinged part of therestoration link 14 is positioned lower than the bottom ends-hinged parts of the first andsecond links restoration link 14 is positioned ahead of the bottom end-hinged part of thesecond link 13 which is positioned ahead of thefirst link 11. - When the
restoration link 14 is connected in this manner, therestoration link 14 interconnect thehinge arm 11 and thebody 22 of theactuator 20 in the inclined direction, in which if the user presses the front end of the hood for restoration after the operation of theactuator 20, thehinge arm 11 is pressed downward so that therestoration link 14 can be rotated counterclockwise about the bottom end-hinged part thereof, and hence thefirst link 12, thesecond link 13 and theactuator 20 are sequentially moved and lowered in cooperation with the restoration link 14 (the first and second links are rotated counterclockwise about the bottom ends-hinged parts thereof, respectively). - Of course, since the
actuator 20 is lowered by overcoming the spring force of the springs when the hood and therestoration link 14 are lowered, thesprings 21 are compressed. - As the restoration link is rotated downward due to the movement of the hinge arm when the hood is lowered in this manner, the user can readily lower the hood, the actuator, the hinge arm, and the individual links with less force. The functional effects of the restoration link will be described below with reference to
FIG. 6 . - In the present invention, the
restoration link 14 performs a lever action for reducing the restoration force to be exerted by the user. For example, assuming that the force required for compressing thesprings 21 of theactuator 20, i.e. the spring force is 500 kgf, the restoration force to be exerted by the user for restoring the active hood system can be calculated as follows: -
- Herein, A is a distance from the top end-hinged part (rotation center) of the
restoration link 14 to the center of gravity of the hood 1, B is a distance from the top end-hinged part of therestoration link 14 to the acting point of force (restoration force) exerted by the user, and W is a load acting due to the self-weight at the center of gravity. - In addition, C is an eccentric distance between the acting point of the spring force of the actuator and the top end-hinged part of the
restoration link 14, and F is a force to be exerted by the user to the hood 1 for restoring the active hood system, i.e. a restoration force. - Assuming, as an example, that A=700 mm, B=1,100 mm, C=80 mm, and W=20 kgf in Equation 1, F will be 24 kgf, which can be easily applied to the acting point on the hood by the user. Accordingly, with the aid of the lever action of the restoration link, the positions of the springs, the actuator and the hood can be restored to the original conditions thereof even with little force.
- Like this, in accordance with the present invention, if a user presses the front end of the hood of a vehicle in a state in which the actuator was operated and lifted for protecting a pedestrian at the time of a pedestrian collision, the restoration link serves as a lever, whereby the positions of the actuator and the hood can be lowered and restored with a less force.
- The invention has been described in detail with reference to exemplary embodiments thereof. However, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that changes may be made in these embodiments without departing from the principles and spirit of the invention, the scope of which is defined in the appended claims and their equivalents.
Claims (7)
Applications Claiming Priority (2)
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KR1020110070739A KR101261921B1 (en) | 2011-07-18 | 2011-07-18 | Active hood system for vehicle |
KR10-2011-0070739 | 2011-07-18 |
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US20130020141A1 true US20130020141A1 (en) | 2013-01-24 |
US8490736B2 US8490736B2 (en) | 2013-07-23 |
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US13/323,685 Active 2032-03-28 US8490736B2 (en) | 2011-07-18 | 2011-12-12 | Active hood system for vehicle |
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US (1) | US8490736B2 (en) |
KR (1) | KR101261921B1 (en) |
CN (1) | CN102887175B (en) |
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WO2016075572A1 (en) * | 2014-11-12 | 2016-05-19 | Same Deutz-Fahr Group S.P.A. | Tractor with openable bonnet |
US11299125B2 (en) * | 2018-10-05 | 2022-04-12 | Hyundai Motor Company | ADAS-linked active hood apparatus for always-on operation |
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KR20140023048A (en) * | 2012-08-16 | 2014-02-26 | 현대자동차주식회사 | Impact sensor of active hood system |
KR101491310B1 (en) * | 2013-09-04 | 2015-02-06 | 현대자동차주식회사 | Apparatus of hood for vehicle |
CN106828395B (en) * | 2017-03-02 | 2018-11-23 | 浙江农业商贸职业学院 | Safety device is hit before automobile |
CN107587801B (en) * | 2017-11-02 | 2024-01-02 | 合众新能源汽车股份有限公司 | Push-type secondary opening mechanism for charging port cover of pure electric vehicle |
JP6990631B2 (en) * | 2018-08-08 | 2022-01-12 | 本田技研工業株式会社 | Vehicle protection device |
US20220136301A1 (en) * | 2020-10-29 | 2022-05-05 | Magna Closures, Inc. | Active hood hinge assembly |
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Also Published As
Publication number | Publication date |
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CN102887175A (en) | 2013-01-23 |
CN102887175B (en) | 2016-08-17 |
DE102011089027A1 (en) | 2013-01-24 |
US8490736B2 (en) | 2013-07-23 |
KR20130010136A (en) | 2013-01-28 |
KR101261921B1 (en) | 2013-05-08 |
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